strawberry fields forever

Earthfare came to Alex's office last week to do a cooking demonstration. They made their Strawberry Fields Salad:

2 quarts mixed salad greens

1 cup baby spinach leaves

1 cup fresh strawberries

1/3 cup sliced red onion

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/3 cup sliced almonds

Wash & dry greens. Wash, stem and dice strawberries. In large bowl, toss greens w/strawberries. Reserve 1/3 cup berries for vinaigrette. add onion, feta & almonds. toss together.

And Strawberry Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp water

salt & pepper to taste

Mix oil, lemon juice, water & pressed or mashed garlic clove and s&p. With fork mash 1/3 cup strawberries and add (or blend them all up in food processor). Gently TOSS to coat greens.

YUM

I love it.

tollhouse cookies

My friend Stephanie shared this awesome cookie recipe with me!

Tollhouse Recipe except instead of 3/4 cup white sugar you only use 1/4 cup. And then you add a small package of vanilla pudding mix (the 4 serving size). So basically you just swap 1/2 cup white sugar for the pudding mix.

SO GOOD!

AND- Anne mixes the batter, makes them into little balls, freezes them on a cookie sheet and then puts them in a ziplock bag for later or to give as a gift!

dairy free pumpkin muffins

From a great website: www.eatbelive.wordpress.com

Moira says these are moist, low in sugar and make a great afternoon snack or breakfast addition. I made 12 and ate 6 :) alex and ava shared the others.

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil (canola or olive)

2 eggs

3/4 cup pumpkin puree (use 100% pure pumpkin puree- unsweetened)

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup flour (all purpose, whole-grain, whateva you want)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (i used the nut,wheat,egg,dairy free)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin pan or 24-cup mini muffin pan or use cups. Whisk together the first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Blend together flour, powder, soda, spices in med bowl. Add wet mixture and stir until just blended. Fold in nuts & chips. Spoon into pan. Bake 20-25 min Enjoy!

carrie's awesome chicken & pesto pasta

This is a dish Carrie made for us the first week we had Anna. Since then i've made it for us a few times and for a few others who have had babies. Everyone raves about how great it is!

I box whole wheat penne pasta cooked and drained (or whatever kind you want, we have done regular, and veggie pasta)

4 oz cream cheese softened (I put this in right after I drain the noodles so it will melt a little more and mix easily)

1 jar Classico Pesto Sauce

1 can diced tomatoes drained

some fresh baby spinach leaves (as little or as much as you like)

diced chicken breast cooked (I have used left over chicken, the tyson already cooked stuff in a pinch, and fresh sauteed or grilled chicken)

toss all together and put in a baking dish

top with mozzarella cheese

put in oven for about 5 mins on broil (keep a close eye on it when it starts to get a little tan spots on top take it out)

Super easy if you have cooked chicken. (It is worth the tyson for me because it makes clean up so easy).

butternut squash & macaroni casserole

I just got the Whole Foods App and have tried a few recipes. I really liked this one.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 butternut squash (about 2 lb), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 in pieces

1 (15 oz.) can coconut milk

salt & pepper to taste

1 tablespoon chopped sage (i didn't have this and i thought it was still good)

3/4 pound dried elbow macaroni (i used penne b/c that's all i had)

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Method

Prehead oven 350. Lightly oil a 9x13 in casserole dish, set aside

Heat oil in med pot over med heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, unstil softened, 5-7 min. Add squash, cocount milk, s & p and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med low and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 min. Stir in sage & simmer 1 min more. (This part can be made ahead, up to 1 day in advance).

Meanwhile, brin ga large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macacroni (or other pasta) and cook until tender but still firm, about 8 min. Rince in cold water, drain and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer squash mixture to bowl with macaroni. Add walnuts, s&p and toss to combine.

Transfer to prepared dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake until just golden brown and hot throughout, about 30 minutes.

Serves 8

chocolate bowls

This week at the beach Ava and I had the chance to hang out with some pretty awesome ladies who are on staff with Young Life across SC & Charlotte. A few of them were assigned to our meals- all very yummy and I had to share this one:

Dessert!!! Chocolate bowls!
I found a recipe on this website: The Wicked Noodle!

We made icecream sundaes in ours!
Enjoy!

roasted sweet potatoes with honey!

Okay! i'm back! Pregnancy sure does mess with your desire to cook and eat! I'm back to wanting to eat healthy again and have deleted some recipes and will begin adding more soon!

This one comes from the referral of a friend Laurin. It's on the Food Network Site (Tyler Florence) and i'm making it tonight for the third time! So easy, simple and yum.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey! (link here)

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling potatoes after cooked
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle the oil, honey, cinnamon, salt and pepper over the potatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until tender.

Take sweet potatoes out of the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil.

Mexican Corn Dip

Can you tell i love dips?

1 (24oz) can of Whole Kernel Corn, drained
6 cups shredded mexican blend cheese
1 (4oz) can diced green chilies, drained
1 cup Hellmann's mayo (ewwww, but it will be good)
1 cup sour cream
3 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeno chili chopped
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix corn, cheese, chilies, mayo, sour cream, onions, jalapeno & salt in bowl. Chill & cover 4-10 hours. Serve cold or spoon into 9x13 dish and bake at 325 for 20-30 min. Serve with chips.

great websites

Well, i haven't posted anything in a few months b/c i've been so nauseous that I haven't really cooked and most of the time I don't want to eat anything at dinner time (except refried beans & cheese, fried rice, or cereal). So i have only made a few new things (recipes to come).

HOWEVER, i have been surfing around and found two cute recipe sites. Food Gawker & No Special Effects. Enjoy.

I cannot wait to make THESE!